Doctor's Note
by Glaikit
Summary: how Nico got permission to sit at the Apollo table. pretty adorbs. fluffy. fits within 'a second life' series but also works as a one shot


Dec 16

 **Nico**

Nico was sitting in the back row of his Greek Mythology class. He knew most of the stories by now anyway, and had zoned out as soon as the satyr mentioned Manticores - _face of a man, the body of a lion, tail of a scorpion with poison spines, three thousand attack power, +5 to saving throws,_ Nico wrote before the satyr even finished spelling the name out on the chalkboard.

He let his mind wander to its recent favorite topic: Will. He couldn't believe that they almost never happened, that if Lou Ellen had found someone different to set Will up with or if Nico had decided to stay in New Rome for the year or if Will hadn't demanded Nico stay in the infirmary or a million other things, his world would be so different. Will was such a huge part of his life now. He knew he was lucky. He wanted to tell his younger self, who had focused so much energy on Percy for so long, who had experienced so much angst and frustration and a self-imposed exile because of what now felt like a very shallow crush, that it wouldn't always be that hard. He remembered how hopeless he felt, how he thought that hiding would be his only option for the rest of his life. Less than a year ago he had felt like that. Now, instead of his fear about others finding out about him hovering in the back of his mind, thoughts about Will had taken up that space. What had started as soft whispers about Will creeping into his thoughts after his three days in the infirmary had now grown into a continuous, bright chorus that was in the background of everything since their first kiss. He didn't know if that was healthy or normal, but it definitely felt better than the constant self-doubt. Nico still had that, of course; his anxiety still spiked in large groups, or when someone smirked at Will taking his hand, or when he was alone for long enough to begin to convince himself that Will wasn't real, that whatever they had wasn't real. But it didn't last. Something about Will's presence grounded Nico.

He also couldn't imagine what he would've been doing with all of his free time if it weren't for Will. True, he often helped him in the infirmary, and he was still working in the forge when Will was swamped with patients, but an impressive amount of their spare time was dedicated to Will educating Nico _privately_. Honestly, over the past couple weeks Nico had gained quite a bit of experience making out, but he still enjoyed getting _lessons_ with Will. At this point, Nico knew that he had 'caught up,' more or less - apparently Will hadn't gone past second base with anyone before. After Will explained what he was actually talking about (" _I wasn't asking about sports, Will, that's completely off topic." "Nico, no, um… ok, so first base means…"_ ) and Nico's old-fashioned sensibilities had time to process the latter bases and add details to the things Will described while blushing furiously, Nico found mental images of the two of them reaching third, and sometimes even fourth base, flashing through his mind more and more often. They hadn't actually done anything more than prolonged and very heated makeout sessions in Nico's cabin - and once, the supply closet in the infirmary - but Nico could tell his building desire to _try_ was slowly overcoming any hesitation about being bad at it or reacting weird or something.

He was just drifting into thoughts about Will's skilled hands when the _actual_ Will slid into the seat next to him. The satyr had his back turned to the class, writing manticore traits on the chalkboard, and didn't notice. Lou Ellen looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, smirking. Nico blushed, glad that mind-reading wasn't a skill any demigods had, and gave Will wide, questioning eyes. He hastily scribbled a note on some scrap paper and passed it to Will.

 _what are you doing here solace?_

Will grinned and responded below Nico's question.

 _learning Greek mythology, duh_

Nico rolled his eyes.

 _you already told me your cabin covered all this yesterday._

Will: _maybe i fell asleep_

Nico _: seriously._

Will froze when the satyr turned back around to ask someone to tell him where the Manticore originated. He gave Will a confused look, and seemed like he was about to ask him what he was doing, but was distracted by a very small Nemesis cabin girl raising her hand excitedly. As soon as the satyr moved to pull down the relevant map Will handed the note back to Nico.

Will: _well i wanted to give you a heads up that you volunteered to help me decorate the big house for the 'nondenominational holiday dinner' next weekend_

Nico: _and how did i volunteer for that?_

Will: _you slept through the counselor's meeting this morning_

Nico glared at Will, who rolled his eyes and grabbed the note back, adding: _the cabin leaders thought it would be nice to decorate the big house and maybe throw a party to boost morale_

The satyrs had been reporting more and more difficulty getting to camp, and one camper who had gone home for her birthday last weekend only managed to get back because some of Chiron's cousins had found her right before a Clazmonian Sow they had been chasing nearly wrecked her dad's car. Chiron decided to keep everyone there until the communication and transportation problems cleared up. Nico wasn't sure how parents were taking it, but the mood among many of the demigods was low. Nico was actually pretty happy - he wasn't concerned about celebrating any holidays, but Will's two-week trip home had been canceled.

Nico: _but why decorating_

Will: _you're lucky it wasn't food prep_

Nico: _i'm a great cook._

Will: _you survived off of mcdonald's for two years_

Nico: _i was like, eleven._

Will read the last part and smiled. Then his face became a little too innocent looking as he wrote a response and handed the paper back.

Will: _ok think of it this way: if we do the decorations we can leave early… nobody will be around the cabins… and i promise to make it up to you…_

Nico read the note and blushed. He looked up at Will, who still had an angelic look on his face but his cheeks were a bit pink as well. Before Nico could even think of how to respond, the class ended and everyone stood to walk to lunch. Will leaned in and was about to say something when Lou Ellen appeared between them and threw her arms around their necks.

"Soooo, boys. Haven't seen much of either of you lately." She gave both of them big smiles. Will smiled awkwardly back, Nico sank into his jacket. "You know, it's crazy, Will. Even when I know you don't have class or chores or infirmary duty, I just can't seem to track you down." She smiled at Will, then turned to Nico. " _You_ wouldn't know where my best friend keeps disappearing to, would you?"

Nico grimaced and looked around for shadows he could fall into. Unfortunately, it was a sunny day and they weren't near any trees or buildings as they walked from the Big House to the Mess Hall.

Will made an exasperated noise. "Lou Ellen, you're being ridiculous. I haven't been disappearing anywhere."

"Oh? So, if I were to pop into Cabin 13 unannounced, I wouldn't come across you two in any _compromising situations?"_

Nico was sure his face was bright red but he still glared at her. "No, you'd be attacked by an army of zombies."

She just chuckled and Will grinned on the other side of her. "Good point. Well, Will, in order to protect me from being eaten by zombies, please set aside some time to actually be social with your poor, neglected friends. Also, I think Cecil misses you and is acting out by pranking me. If I find glue in my conditioner one more time, I refuse to take responsibility for anything that might happen."

"Absolutely, Lou Ellen. I'll talk to him about putting toothpaste in your Oreos instead."

She just shoved him and laughed and walked toward the Hecate table.

Will grinned at Nico. "Sorry. Maybe she's right, I should probably get our cabins to be on the same team for next capture the flag or something. Anyway, infirmary after lunch? The Aries and Nike kids were in the forges together this morning so you know there'll be some good stories."

Nico just grinned nodded and they both headed to their respective tables. Nico tried not to dwell on Lou Ellen's teasing. She wasn't wrong … but Nico hoped that she only noticed because she was one of Will's best friends. He didn't want to have a conversation with Chiron about leaving cabin doors open or something, he'd probably let the earth swallow him whole to escape the embarrassment.

He was distracted from dwelling on that terrible potential conversation by one of Will's younger siblings stopping in front of him, holding a folded piece of paper. "Here," she said, dropping the paper unceremoniously in front of Nico and walking away.

Nico picked it up and unfolded it. It began with: _anyway, about how I could make it up to you…_ Nico felt his face flush and his eyes shot up to the Apollo table. Will was sitting there, looking as innocent as ever, politely listening to something Austin was telling him. Nico suspected he was actively avoiding making eye contact. Nico glared at him a little and kept reading the note: _i think i would start with giving you a nice, thorough massage. decorating is hard work, after all. i came across some black currant vanilla aromatherapy massage oils in the back of the supply closet the other day … it would be a shame if they went to waste. then you'd probably need a long, warm shower to get all of the oils off, which i would be happy to assist with…_

Nico couldn't hardly believe Will had written this. If he wasn't so familiar with the blond's handwriting he would have suspected a prank. He looked up at Will again, and saw a ghost of a mischievous smile that didn't seem to have anything to do with what Austin was saying. Nico couldn't bring himself to even think about what Will was actually describing, not when he was surrounded by other campers in the middle of lunch. He scribbled a response and refolded the note, dropping it next to Will as he walked past the Apollo table to offer some of his lamb to the gods. Nico heard Will laugh when he read Nico's short reply: _I hate black currant._

Nico didn't make eye contact as he sat back down and started eating. He also tried to keep any thoughts combining Will and long showers out of his head. Suddenly, a paper airplane landed in his food. He almost dreaded opening it, hoping that Will didn't write anything too risqué on a paper airplane that could've been intercepted by any passing demigod. He kept a neutral expression on his face as he read what Will wrote back.

 _no black currant, got it. in that case, might i suggest a post-decoration meal of chocolate and strawberries and whipped cream? as a medical professional, i want to make sure you're getting the proper nutrients. your health is my utmost priority._

Nico had a hard time not smiling. He glanced up at the Apollo table again, and this time Will was staring right at him, a small grin on his face. Nico just shook his head at him. He ate a few grapes as he thought about what to write back. Neither were very vocal about these sorts of things in person, but it did seem a bit easier when you could really think about what you wanted to say. Nico wasn't comfortable being _too_ explicit, but figured he could play along.

 _as long as you're acting as my healthcare provider, i would appreciate a private consultation about some mysterious bruising that occasionally appears along my collarbone._

Now, how to deliver it? He wasn't about to just walk over to Will's table again, he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. He sent his senses out and … perfect. A lizard skeleton skittered up the leg of his pants. Nico folded the paper and the lizard took it in its mouth. He watched as it quickly made its way between campers' feet and under the tables between him and Will. Will nearly choked on his food when he looked down at his lap. He seemed to catch himself and picked up the lizard to take the note. Nico watched Will's face break into a mischievous smile as he read it, but was suddenly distracted by a scream further down the Apollo table.

The lizard must have gone for some food on the table, because one of Will's little sisters was scrambling to stand up from the bench while screaming and pointing at her plate. _Shit,_ Nico thought. He and Will locked eyes before Will stood and rushed to calm his sister down. Chiron was also making his way toward the girl, and Nico started to sink lower in his seat. As soon as the centaur saw the lizard, though, he looked directly at Nico and sighed. Chiron picked up the lizard and walked toward Nico.

"I believe this is yours?"

"Yes, sir, sorry. Um…" Nico worked to think of a legitimate explanation for sending an undead lizard to the Apollo table.

Will suddenly appeared behind Nico. "Chiron, sir, I take full responsibility."

Nico turned and stared at Will. Chiron gave him a long look. "I didn't realize children of Apollo could raise dead lizards."

Will blushed. "No, of course not. I just mean … as Nico's doctor I should have been more proactive about his care."

"His care?"

"Yes, sir, I was helping him rehabilitate his powers and…" Will faltered.

Nico jumped in. "I'm still very unstable, you see."

"You are?" Nico thought Chiron sounded a little sarcastic.

"Absolutely. It's especially bad when I'm just eating at this table all on my own. Sometimes I nearly open up the ground or … raise zombies. We're lucky it was just a tiny, harmless lizard skeleton."

"Lucky, are we? Is that so?"

Will spoke back up. "Yes, sir, I've been studying psychiatry and it does seem like a mood disorder. Better socialization would probably help. Like he said, mealtimes are especially difficult."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "And I assume you volunteer to keep an eye on him at the Apollo table?"

"Absolutely, sir. As his healthcare provider." Nico nearly choked trying to keep himself from laughing at that.

"Of course. Fine, Nico, you can sit at the Apollo table. But if I even see even one undead honeybee in here…" He gave them one last long look and turned back to the main table.

They managed to maintain solemn faces until they left the mess hall. Then Will turned toward Nico with huge eyes and a growing smile. "He totally has a soft spot for you. I can't believe you sent a dead lizard."

"Well, now I have a mood disorder. And you're stuck eating with me." Nico grinned.

Will laughed. "Not exactly a punishment, di Angelo. Now… about those mysterious bruises. Along your collarbone, you say? It might be wise to do a private examination as soon as possible … my shift in the infirmary doesn't start for another half hour."

"Of course, doctor. We can use my cabin if you'd like…"


End file.
